Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Al Jazeera Caught Red-Handed

Terrorist media outlet Al Jazeera still has this story posted on their website passing on al Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri's instructions to his terrorist minions:

Al-Qaida deputy chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has said in a video posted on a website that the network's leader Osama bin Laden is alive and leading the jihad against the West.

In a bid to play down US claims of achieving progress in the "war on terror", al-Zawahiri said al-Qaida was expanding, spreading and getting stronger, and called on supporters to attack oil sites in Muslim countries.

The story is posted as breaking news, but the videotape is three months old, as this story from Netscape News points out.

Al-Jazeera said a videotape it aired Wednesday showing Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri claiming that bin Laden was still alive and leading "jihad" or holy war against the West dated back to September.

In the tape, Al-Jazeera said Zawahiri also called for attacks on oil installations, remarks that sent oil prices higher on international markets.

"We got the videotape in September, and back then we aired what we thought were the important parts," Al-Jazeera editor-in-chief Ahmad Sheikh told AFP.

"There was a misunderstanding today, and we aired these extracts today by mistake."

Yes, definitely a mistake to get caught actively participating in a terrorist organization's propaganda effort. Al Jazeera has made themselves a legitimate target in the War on Terror. If Qatar refuses to shut them down, well, that's what precision munitions are for.